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Detroit Tigers hitting coach's message to players: Now's the time to get right

"All winter long I'd call or I'd text him and I'd get no reply," Vavra said. "Then after I'd talk to my sources that were near him, he'd answer to them. I asked him (in spring training) 'How come you didn't answer my calls?' He goes, 'Because I gave you somebody else's number.' I said, 'OK, I hear ya.'"

"That was great to see," Vavra said of Cabrera's fitness in March. "I can't see him deviating away from that."

Several other players, including newcomer CJ Cron, Victor Reyes and Willi Castro, were enjoying strong springs for a club that last season set a major-league record for strikeouts. A majority of players expected to make the major-league roster received between 25-35 at-bats.

"I thought we had real good spring training going," Vavra said. "Staff-wise, we connected pretty well with the players and got a lot of good work in. Everything was going pretty good, so that was a good starting point."

Many other players were still a serious work in progress, with approximately nine players expected to make the roster hitting .250 or less.

Detroit Tigers infielder Miguel Cabrera hits a double in the first inning against the Washington Nationals on March 8, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Fla.(Photo: Jim Rassol, USA TODAY Sports)

Vavra didn't want to name names but he sent the message out to a few of those players to use their break in action wisely. He's been trading video with those struggling hitters, hoping to fix broken swings or bad habits.

"I said to them, 'You know, you're going to have some time to make some rather major adjustments to your mechanics or your swing," Vavra said. "The other guys, we just basically sent the message to stay in shape."

He also wants all of his players to embrace analytics in order to improve at the plate. As the team's quality control coach over the past two seasons under Ron Gardenhire, Vavra served as a liaison between the analytics and coaching staffs. Vavra was also a longtime member of Gardenhire's staff in Minnesota, including a six-year stint as hitting coach.

"It's like math. Unless you learn how to add and subtract, it's really hard to multiply," said Vavra, who has been working remotely from his Wisconsin home. "You challenge them to come out of their comfort zone a little bit. ... This is a good time to kind of figure some of this stuff out."

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Eight memorable moments at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
Wochit

While the players are scattered about the country, or in some cases outside the country, everyone that Vavra has communicated with has access to facilities or equipment so that they can work out and work on their swings. However, no one he has heard from has been able to face live pitching during the hiatus.

Vavra doesn't see a particular timetable to get batters back up to speed once the league gives the go-ahead to teams to start training again. He anticipates some of his players will need more time than others. But there is a consensus that everyone is eager to get back out on the field.